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Your turn to be an art critic

November 6, 2012 - Mohawk Currents

Here's your chance to play the role of art critic and culture commentator. The photos at right, from the Associated Press, show the installation of "Verity," a 66-foot bronze statue of a naked, pregnant woman wielding a sword, in Ilfracombe, southwest England. The statue, by British artist Damien Hirst, has been rather controversial — not only for the reasons obvious from these photos, which show her "good side." The other side of the statue reveals the woman's internal musculature and organs, which is metaphorically significant in a work depicting Truth but might be off-putting to the squeamish.

The world has a long history of statues depicting women as the symbolic embodiment of virtues; many a courthouse is decorated with a variation on good ol' Blind Lady Justice, with her sword and scales. The closest equivalent of this in our region is probably Daniel Chester French's "The Spirit of Life," a beautiful piece in Congress Park in Saratoga Springs.

What do you think of "Verity"? How do you think a piece of sculpture like this would be received in downtown Gloversville?